Sandhya Devanathan, the former Vice President of Meta India and Southeast Asia, will be joining OpenAI as Vice President for Southeast Asia and Australia, according to reports.
Reports indicate that Devanathan will be located in Singapore and will report to Kiran Mani, Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region.
The newly established role will position her as OpenAI’s highest-ranking executive for Southeast Asia and Australia.
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Her responsibilities are anticipated to cover consumer growth, enterprise integration and collaborations, regulatory involvement, and operations throughout the markets. She will additionally concentrate on forming alliances and enhancing the larger AI ecosystem as OpenAI aims to expand acceptance among consumers, companies, organizations, and governmental entities in the area.
Devanathan has over 25 years of expertise in technology and financial services. She most recently held the position of Vice President for India and Southeast Asia at Meta, where she started in 2016.
Throughout her ten years at Meta, Devanathan held various leadership positions in the Asia Pacific area. She contributed to developing the company’s businesses and teams in Singapore and Vietnam and subsequently managed its gaming operations throughout APAC. She assumed responsibility for Meta’s business in India in January 2023, and her role was later extended in 2025 to cover Southeast Asia.
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Devanathan revealed her exit from Meta on Friday after over ten years with the organization.
The action occurs as OpenAI expands its leadership and physical footprint in the Asia Pacific region due to the increasing use of its AI products by consumers, developers, and businesses.
In the last two years, the creator of ChatGPT has broadened its footprint in markets such as Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India. It has been enhancing its leadership framework in the region.
Earlier this year, OpenAI designated former JioStar executive Kiran Mani as Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region, operating out of Singapore. In June, it appointed Prabhjeet Singh, the former President of Uber India and South Asia, as Managing Director for India. Singh is anticipated to start with the company in September and will be under Mani’s supervision.
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The high-level appointments arrive as OpenAI expands local leadership teams to manage growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement, and operations in its rapidly growing international markets.